What is a tax certificate?
A tax certificate is a first lien against real estate (not the owner)
and becomes the basis upon which a tax deed application is filed. The
tax certificate sale is NOT a sale of real property, nor does a tax
certificate give the certificate holder a direct means to acquire a
property. According to Florida Statute 197.432 (13) The holder of a tax
certificate may not directly, through an agent, or otherwise initiate
contact with the owner of property upon which he or she holds a tax
certificate to encourage or demand payment until 2 years after April 1
of the year of issuance of the tax certificate.

It is your sole responsibility to research any tax lien certificates
you intend to buy. You can see additional property and tax information
for any item by clicking on the Account or Parcel Number on the auction
web site. Research
any advertised items carefully before submitting bids. There are
potential risks associated with tax certificate purchases. All
purchases in the tax certificate sale are final.

When does the tax certificate sale take place?
The sale opens in early to mid May and starts to close on or before
June 1. All activity related to registration, bidding, payments and
certificate assignment takes place on the auction website.

In early to mid-May each year:

Delinquent taxes are advertised in accordance with Florida
Statute 197.402.

How do I register for the sale?
Any bidder who intends to participate in the sale must perform the
following steps via the auction web
site:

Obtain a User ID and password for the web site by clicking the "Sign In" link at the top left of the page, then clicking the "Create A User" button and completing the required form.

Submit
an IRS W-9 form. Submission and/or modification can
occur only while the sale is open. Bidder numbers will be assigned once
this form has been successfully submitted. (See note below.)

Set a budget amount (the maximum amount you are willing to spend
in the
sale)

Pay a deposit of at least 10% of your anticipated purchases.

NOTE:
A Social Security number (SSN) or employer identification number (EIN)
must be provided for each bidder and must belong to the person listed
on the IRS form. This information is treated as confidential; for
further information please review the Privacy Policy
located within the Documentation
section of the BidLakeTax home page. The Tax Collectors office will
perform a verification process via the IRS website for all tax
identification numbers submitted. The tax certificate list, redemption
checks and interest earnings will be issued exactly as indicated on the
form(s).

How do I submit my bids?
Bids can be submitted on the Bid
page individually, as a group (using a saved list), or via a file
upload. All steps necessary for registration must be completed before
bids can be submitted.

How do I pay for certificate purchases?
Payment must be made by ACH using the "Pay for Certificates" button on
the My Account page. The
button is activated once the last batch in the
sale closes and any final data updates are complete. The deadline to
pay is listed on the Auction Schedule.
Any bidder who fails to make payment by the deadline will forfeit their
deposit and certificates will be re-sold or struck to the county at the
discretion of the Tax Collector.

What is an ACH debit?
An ACH debit is an electronic payment from your checking or savings
account. When you enter your bank account information and submit
payment on the auction web site, you are authorizing the Tax Collector
to debit your account for the amount you indicated. All payments are
sent for processing immediately. Additional information is available on
the page where you authorize payment.

What is the auction process?
Certificates
are sold in the order they are advertised. Bidding begins at 18 percent
(18%), the maximum rate, and interest is bid down in decrements of 1/4
percent (0.25%). Each certificate is sold individually to the bidder
offering the lowest interest rate. In the case of a tie at the lowest
rate, the winner will be selected using a random number generator in
the auction software. Items that receive no bids are struck to the
county to become county-held certificates. Bids are accepted at 0
percent (0%), but certificates awarded at this rate WILL NOT accrue
interest. Bids at 0% will not be treated as proxy bids.

Is
there a cost to participate?
There
is no cost associated with registering on the website. If you intend to
bid, payment is necessary for a deposit and to pay the balance due for
any certificates awarded to your bidder number.

Is there a registration deadline for
the sale?Any person who intends to participate in the Lake County tax
certificate sale must complete the sale registration process by the
deadline stipulated on the Auction Schedule page.

What is a batch?
A batch is a subgroup of the list of auction items. The list is divided
into batches to make the bidding process more efficient, and enable
participants to manage their bids and budgets.

Do I have to bid on all the items in a
batch?
No. Each tax certificate in each batch is auctioned independently of
every other tax certificate.

What happens to my security deposit if
I don't win any certificates?
The Tax Collector will issue refunds
approximately two weeks after the
close of the sale. Refunds of ACH payments will be made electronically
to the account you
used to submit the deposit. You
will receive an email confirmation when
the refund is initiated.

Will the Tax Collector send me a paper
certificate or list of certificates after the sale?
No.
Tax certificates are recorded and maintained electronically. Bidders
can review and download a list of purchased certificates from the
auction website by following these steps:

Log in to the auction web site

Enter the relevant tax certificate sale

Click on the Results tab

Select "All Certificates" from the Certificate Lists menu

Select "All Batches" from the Batches
menu

Select your buyer number from the Bidder menu

Select "Winning Bids" from the Results
menu

Check "Hide Removed Certificates"

After completing these steps you will see a list of your purchases. You
can download the list in Excel or comma-separated values format (CSV)
by clicking the icons on the right-hand side of the page above the list
of certificates.

What if I forget my password?
Click "Forgot your password?" on the Sign In page. Answer a few
questions and the system will send you a temporary password via email.

What if I forget my User ID?
Click "Forgot your User ID?" on the Sign In page. Answer a few
questions and the system will send your User ID via email.

What is Proxy Bidding?
In
a live auction, bidders lower their bids by 1/4 percent (.25%)
decrements until they are the only bidder left or until the interest
goes below their acceptable minimum level, at which point they would
drop out.

Proxy bidding is a form of competitive sale in which bidders enter the
minimum interest rate they are willing to accept for each certificate.
The auction system acts as an electronic agent, submitting bids on
behalf of each bidder until their minimum bid rate is met. Using the
proxy system, the electronic agent keeps lowering your bid by 1/4
percent (0.25%) decrements until you are either the only bidder left
(in which case you get the certificate at 1/4 percent lower than the
previous bid), or until you reach the floor you have set.

0 percent bids (0%) will not be treated as proxy bids. They
will be
awarded at 0%.

If you are the only bidder on a given certificate and your
minimum rate is greater than 0 percent (0%), the electronic agent will
submit a bid of 18 percent (18%) on your behalf.

In the case of a tie at the winning bid rate, the system awards
the certificate to one of the tied bidders through a random selection
process using a random number generator.

In no case will a bidder be awarded a certificate at a rate lower
than their specified minimum acceptable rate.

Certificates that receive no bids after all batches are closed
will be struck to the County at 18 percent (18%).

Does my budget amount limit the number
of bids I can submit?
No. An unlimited number of bids can be submitted regardless of your
budget amount. However, you will not be awarded an item if the award
would cause the value of your purchases to exceed your budget amount.

Is my budget amount automatically 10x
my deposit amount?
No.
The maximum allowable budget you can set is 10x your deposit amount,
but you have to enter what you want your budget to be. You can modify
your budget any time before the end of the sale, as long as you have at
least 10 percent (10%) of that amount submitted as your deposit.

Where can I find sale results?
Results
can be viewed by logging in to the auction website, entering the
auction and clicking on the Results tab in the upper right-hand part of
the page. Clicking on the winning bid for any certificate will display
a list of all submitted bids in a new window.

What equipment or software do I need
to be able to participate?
In
order to use the auction website, you will need an internet connection
and modern web browser with JavaScript and cookies enabled. Google
Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer are some of the freely
available browsers.

If I have a question about how to use
the web site, who do I contact?
Contact Grant Street Group by email at LienAuction@GrantStreet.com,
or by phone at (866) 247-4370, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST,
Monday through Friday.

TAX
CERTIFICATEStopHow do I receive redemption funds?When a certificate has been redeemed, the certificate holder is
entitled to the face value plus whatever interest the certificate has
earned. Certificates are redeemed when the owner, title company or
mortgage company pays the outstanding taxes, or when the holder of a
certificate on the same parcel (from a different tax year) redeems it
as part of a tax deed application. Redemption proceeds are remitted to
certificate holders by the Tax Collector. The certificate holder is
never paid directly unless it is from a Bankruptcy Trustee. If that
happens, you must notify the Tax Collector when you are paid in full
and request that the certificate be canceled.

Can I pay the taxes and own the
property?
NO. You have not purchased property. A tax certificate purchase does
not convey any property rights or ownership to the certificate holder.

Can an interest rate be changed after
the sale?
The following circumstances could result in an interest rate other than
the rate awarded in the sale:

In accordance with Florida Statute 197.472(2), mandatory
minimum interest of an absolute 5 percent (5%) will be levied upon the
face value of certificates redeemed when the interest earned on said
tax certificate is less than 5%. This applies to all county-held and
individual tax certificates except those with an interest rate bid of 0
percent (0%).

In accordance with Florida Statute 197.432(11), any tax
certificates that are canceled, corrected or amended pursuant to
statute, earn interest at the rate of 8 percent (8%) per year, simple
interest, or the rate of interest bid at the sale, whichever is less.

Interest can be affected by related judicial proceedings.

Can a certificate be canceled or
reduced?
A certificate could be canceled or corrected as set forth in Florida
Statute 197.443 and 197.444. The Tax Collector reserves the right to
cancel or correct certificates issued in error.

How do I transfer a tax certificate?
Certificates can be transferred by completing an endorsement form and
paying the applicable fees through the Tax Collectors office.

When are county-held tax certificates
available for purchase?
Currently-held county tax certificates, other than those issued on
homestead real estate under $250.00, may be purchased online through LienExpress.
County-held certificates associated with the current years tax
certificate sale are available through the same website after the close
and reconciliation of the sale.

What is the life of a tax certificate?
The statute of limitation on a tax certificate is seven years from the
date of issuance. If application for tax deed has not been made, and no
other administrative or legal proceeding exists, the tax certificate is
null and void.

What is a tax deed for Florida
purposes?
A tax deed is a title deed issued by a public authority to the
purchaser of property sold for the non-payment of taxes.

When can a certificate holder apply
for tax deed?
Pursuant to Florida Statute 197.502, at any time after 2 years have
elapsed since April 1 of the year a tax certificate was issued, and
before the cancelation of the certificate, the holder of the tax
certificate may apply for tax deed.

How do I make application for tax deed?
The tax deed application process is initiated through the Tax
Collectors office via the DeedExpress website, https://lake.deedexpress.net.

Who conducts tax deed sales for Lake
County?
The Clerk of the Circuit Court, Lake County, Florida.